We are a Christian family on this wonderful journey called life. Here we will take you through our experiences with adoption, homeschooling, parenting and more. We are constantly growing, changing and learning as a family. Every day is a gift. Thank you for joining us for a glimpse into our adventures as we strive to follow God's path for us by taking baby steps.
"Life is half spent before we know what it is." George Herbert

The Family

Sunday, August 19, 2012

A Big Announcement!!!!

Just wanted to do a quick announcement on here for everyone who has not heard through our church or Facebook......................

We Are ADOPTING Again!!!

We have planned this for awhile, since we were still in Ukraine actually adopting our last two. We got preparations like USCIS approval and home study updates done while we were still in country actually, but we wanted to get Charlotte and Atticus home and settled and adjusted a bit to family life before we made another big announcement.

This time we are returning for two older children, teenagers in fact. They are not special needs children in the truest sense of the word but they are considered such by some simply because of their age. In Ukraine children age out of the orphanage system at age 16. They are then sent out onto the streets, alone, with little more than a few utensils, maybe a sleeping bag, and a little money. It is impossible for me to think of our Evan, who is 16, completely fending for himself right now. Especially if he had not ever been raised with the love of a family, or any kind of true direction and guidance in life. It would be like throwing him to the wolves.

This is the exact reason why many of these "aged out" children find themselves homeless, hungry and alone. They lack basic skills to survive in life because no one ever taught them any. They become prostitutes, druggies, vagabonds. They often find themselves HIV positive. They are without hope, living on the streets and in sewers, with no future, let alone hope for the next day.

We ask you all to please PRAY for this next journey we are embarking upon. Pray for our family and our ability to yet again have all paperwork processed correctly and efficiently. Pray for the hearts and minds of our children as they wait for us in the orphanage. Pray for everything to fall into place as it should and no setbacks.

We have already been hard at work since arriving back home and our dossier is already in country waiting to be submitted. We are simply waiting for a few pieces of paper to send over, and then that will happen. After submission it is an average of 2 mos till travel, which really isn't a lot at all. I am praying we travel sometime around the end of October.

That being said, we are also in need of funding. Being that we just arrived home in May with our two youngest children, and will be returning so soon, resources are low. We were really hoping to put our tax return toward this adoption, but considering we have not gotten it back yet because of disputes with the IRS over adoption tax credits (like many have experienced) we cannot count on that money being in our account by the time we need to travel.

An FSP fund has been set up again through Reece's Rainbow as we had before. Andrea Roberts who runs RR has been gracious enough to allow us to have that account knowing that although these children are not sn children like many on her site, their time is limited as I mentioned above, and the possibility of aging out in the future without a family is NEED enough. We thank her for allowing us to have this FSP again to make it easy for people to donate to our adoption.

2 comments:

Thank you got what you are doing to help Vanya and the other child. We were going to adopt him and he really fell right into out home like he was a member all along. We would not get the funds we need fast enough... then we didn't qualify for some reason fiscally. We were heart broken and I knew God has a plan for his life- we just were not going to be a full time part of this plan.... Hopefully, when you bring them home we can be a part of the welcome home celebration. I have a gift for him and I will be more than happy to make another for your girl as well. Please just let me know what is going on with your progress so I can sleep at night and I am going to try and get a raffle quilt together for you. Hopefully, that will help as well. GOOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Believe it or Not... Reeces Rainbow is finding families for many children with Down Syndrome

This will touch your heart-- the plight of the orphan in China. Take a look.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters
compared to what lies within us.~ Walt Emerson

"I cannot play it safe and please God"

Keith Seabourn

"All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

Edmund Burke

"I'd rather regret the things that I have done than the things I have not done."

Lucille Ball

"To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice."

Confucius

"And I took the road less traveled by, and that made all the difference."

Robert Frost

"Preach the gospel always, and when necessary, use words."

Unknown

"The one who says it can't be done should get out of the way of the one who is doing it."

Chinese Proverb

"If we say we love God but do nothing on behalf of the world's vulnerable children, we're kidding ourselves; we're ignorant and misinformed. You cannot love God without developing a passion for orphans."

About Me

I am wife to Tim, and stay-at-home Mommy to 10 amazing children! Four of them are biological, and 6 are through the blessing of adoption. We are a Christian homeschooling family who love life and try to follow God's will in all of it.

The beautiful children listed here are all available for adoption through Reece's Rainbow, or have wonderful families trying to raise enough money to bring these children home. They are from a variety of countries around the world and each is beautiful and perfect just the way God made them. They are all deserving of a loving home. Most have Down Syndrome, others have different special needs like HIV, Cerebral Palsy or FAS. Please consider donating to one of these children's funds to give these precious children of God a greater chance to grow up in a loving family instead of being doomed to a short life in an institution.